why do we give aid to foreign countries

The UK is a major contributor of foreign aid and US billionaire Bill Gates is urging the government to continue with its funding promises. Yesterday Prime Minister Theresa May did not confirm whether keeping the international aid target will be one of the promises made by the Conservatives at the upcoming election. Currently of the UK's gross national income (GNI) to go on foreign aid. This came to around бе12bn in 2015. Some people think the UK shouldn't be helping people overseas while cutting services at home. They think problems of poverty and inequality are being fuelled by conflict, corruption and political instability and so foreign aid is worthless. Others say it is a mark of the UK's generosity and helps address the difference in wealth between developed and developing countries. It also saves lives, they say. What is foreign aid? In its most basic definition, foreign aid is resources given from one country to another. It can involve a transfer of things like food or military equipment, or even people to provide training and medical help. Usually these are loaned by governments, organisations and individuals in richer countries to help people in poorer countries. An example would be the бе230m the UK provided to fight the spread of Ebola in West Africa. Aid could also include advice on farming methods, help with clean water and sanitation or building local schools and providing books. There are different types of aid, such as emergency or short-term aid which is needed after sudden disasters such as earthquakes, flooding or tsunamis. Conditional or tied aid is when one country donates money or resources to another but with conditions attached, for example a trade deal. There is also aid funded by donations from the public through charities such as Children in Need. Long-term or development aid involves providing local communities with education and skills. Money shared through international organisations such as the World Bank, rather than by one specific country, is called multilateral aid.

How does UK foreign aid compare to other countries? Only five countries in addition to the UK met or exceeded the 0. 7% of GNI target in 2015. Those countries are the Netherlands, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway and Sweden, according to the United Nations. Germany, France, Italy, the US, Japan and Canada each spend 0. 4% or less. So, where does it go? More than 40% of the budget went to multilateral organisations, such as the United Nations, who fund big projects like disaster relief. The remaining 60% goes directly to developing countries. The Department for International Development says the biggest regional beneficiary is Africa, which received a total of бе2. 54bn from the UK last year. Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Syria, were each given more than бе200m. Pakistan received бе374m from the UK in 2015, more than any of the country. The majority of that cash has gone towards social welfare, education and healthcare. Critics point out Pakistan spends бе2. 1bn a year on nuclear arms operations, according to the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Afghanistan is third on the UK's list; they received бе300m in 2015. The UK's presence in the country over the last decade has helped improve security and prevent it from once again becoming a base of operations for global terrorists. Syria received бе258m in 2015 to support the "humanitarian and development responses to conflict". Since then the UK's Department for International Development has announced they will spend more than бе1bn on helping the country. Nigeria was one of the largest recipients of aid from the UK, with бе263m given. Critics of Nigeria's leadership say it is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. The country has been fighting to win back areas that have been under the control of the Boko Haram extremist group. Follow on Twitter, on Instagram, on YouTube and you can now follow BBC_Newsbeat It's no secret US President Donald Trump is not a fan of foreign aid.

Early on in his campaign for the top job, he was quoted saying America should stop foreign aid to "countries that hate us". Now, he's issued a similar threat to countries if they vote in favour of a UN General Assembly vote. So which countries actually receive aid from the US? Countries asked to acknowledge the historical friendship, partnership, and support US has extended Trump: "Let them vote against us. We'll save a lot. " What is the US currently giving and why is this a big deal? A lot. Numbers from 2015 show the US was the largest single donor country of foreign aid in the world. The Security Assistance Economic Aid dashboard shows this year the US spent $18. 25 billion in economic aid to 92 recipients, and $18. 23 billion in security aid to 143 recipients. [Recipients includes individual countries, international organisations, and groups of countries. ] In a story for The Conversation earlier this year, Georgia State University's Joannie Tremblay-Boire, said only countries considered low and middle-income, based on their gross national income, were eligible for the money, which totalled $43 billion in 2015. And she said while it seemed like a lot, it accounted for about 1 per cent of the total US budget. Any cuts could have big impacts internationally. "While taxpayers are spending just a few bucks each on ODA [official development assistance], the impact is profound, saving millions of people from hunger, averting the worst of natural disasters like droughts and flooding, tackling life-threatening diseases like tuberculosis and malaria, and more," she wrote. "Military aid includes military financing, which our allies use to buy weapons, funding intended to advance counterterrorism and anti-narcotics initiatives, and money spent on efforts related to military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and other nations. " Who is getting the most? In terms of regions, the Middle East and North Africa receive the most of the economic assistance.

The Sub-Saharan Africa region receives $US1. 2 billion в 25. 32 per cent of the budget. In terms of individual countries, the following receive the most in economic [not security] aid: Afghanistan ($US650,000,000) Jordan ($US635,800,000) Kenya ($US632,500,000) Tanzania ($US534,500,000) Uganda ($US435,500,000) Zambia ($US428,525,000) Nigeria ($US413,300,000) In terms of security aid, the countries receiving the most help are: Israel ($US3. 2 billion) Iraq ($US1. 3 billion) Egypt ($US1. 3 billion) Syria ($US541,500,000) Jordan ($US364,200,000) Hasn't Mr Trump cut foreign aid anyway? Yep. It was a key component of his with the State Department and US Agency for International Development budget cut by almost 30 per cent. The document, dubbed America First, A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again, said it would include "deep cuts to foreign aid". "It is time to prioritise the security and wellbeing of Americans, and to ask the rest of the world to step up and pay its fair share," the statement read. He reiterated this rhetoric in a Washington Post interview. "But you look at some of our inner cities," Mr Trump said. "And yet you know I watched as we built schools in Iraq and they'd be blown up. "And we'd build another one and it would get blown up в And yet we can't build a school in Brooklyn. "We have no money for education, because we can't build in our own country. "And at what point do you say, 'Hey, we have to take care of ourselves'? " What has the US said ahead of the UN vote? Well, the US has sent a warning letter to most of the 193 UN member states, and Mr Trump confirmed its position to reporters. "They take hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars, and then they vote against us," he told reporters at the White House. "Well, we're watching those votes. "Let them vote against us. We'll save a lot. We don't care. " The US ambassador to the United Nations took to Twitter to back the President. External Link External Link